Autumn

Autumn

Autumn, fall, end of summer, pre winter
Treads heavily on our sense of living
Past ripening, completing harvesting,
Laying away both food and planting seeds.

Shepherds of the soil worshiped spring seeds,
As did clerics, wrapped in robes and beads
Lit by high up arching stained glass windows,
Who worshiped vessels and texts of their church.

Worship is sustenance for the mind's fire
Packaged and labeled in the name of faith.
Seeds are sustenance pent up awaiting
Sun rays, light rains, and topical stretching.

Winding down, as crops come in, corn stored
In drying cribs, all grain burlap bagged,
Pumpkins and gourds laid flat out to cure dry.
Summer culminates, efforts rewarded.

Family farm to company farms all share
In intense harvesting activities
Including soil prep for spring planting,
Always ahead, looking to the future.

Forever repeating, seasons press on
Dependent upon latitudes preset
Which segment our Earth, slicing and dicing,
Anticipating the whirl of weather.

Year after year, over and over, we
Fill our pantries with fall harvested crops.
The Cycle of Life, sometimes quite ugly,
Drones on : repeating, repeating, repeating.

Ronald C. Downie